Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating inched down to 53.1 percent last week, a survey showed Monday. The survey by Realmeter indicated that the positive assessment of Lee's overall performance retreated 3.7 percentage points from the previous week, while the negative evaluation rose 4.4 percentage points to 42.2 percent.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Realmeter attributed the decline in approval rating to controversies surrounding the government's move to reform the prosecution and allegations of illicit payments linked to the ruling Democratic Party's election nominations, despite Lee's economic and diplomatic achievements, such as his recent summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The survey was conducted on 2,516 adults from Monday to Friday last week and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, with a confidence rate of 95 percent. In a separate survey conducted by the same pollster on 1,004 individuals aged 18 and over on Thursday and Friday, the approval rating for the Democratic Party edged down 5.3 percentage points to 42.5 percent.

Support for the main opposition People Power Party rose 3.5 percentage points to 37 percent. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with a confidence rate of 95 percent.